Decentralization has been touted as the principal security advantage which propelled blockchain systems at the forefront of developments in the financial technology space. Its exact semantics nevertheless remain highly contested and ambiguous, with proponents and critics disagreeing widely on the level of decentralization offered. To address this, we put forth a systematization of the current landscape with respect to decentralization and we derive a methodology that can help direct future research towards defining and measuring decentralization. Our approach dissects blockchain systems into multiple layers, or strata, each possibly encapsulating multiple categories, and enables a unified method for measuring decentralization in each one. Our layers are (1) hardware, (2) software, (3) network, (4) consensus, (5) economics ("tokenomics"), (6) API, (7) governance, and (8) geography. Armed with this stratification, we examine for each layer which pertinent properties of distributed ledgers (safety, liveness, privacy, stability) can be at risk due to centralization and in what way. Our work highlights the challenges in measuring and achieving decentralization, points to the degree of (de)centralization of various existing systems, where such assessment can be made from presently available public information, and suggests potential metrics and directions where future research is needed. We also introduce the "Minimum Decentralization Test", as a way to assess the decentralization state of a blockchain system and, as an exemplary case, we showcase how it can be applied to Bitcoin.
翻译:简政放权被认为是推动金融技术空间发展最前沿的连锁系统的主要安全优势,尽管其确切的语义仍然极具争议性和模糊性,支持者和批评者对所提供权力下放的程度大相径庭。为了解决这个问题,我们提出了在权力下放方面当前格局的系统化,我们制定了一种方法,可以帮助将未来的研究引导到界定和衡量权力下放。我们的方法将连锁系统分为多个层次或阶层,每个层次可能包含多个类别,并能够采用统一的方法来衡量每个层次的权力下放。我们的工作显示,现有系统在(1)硬件,(2)软件,(3)网络,(4)共识,(5)经济学(“通俗名”),(6)AIPI,(7)治理,和(8)地理。为了解决这个问题,我们提出了分门别类的权力下放,我们研究了分布分类账(安全、生活、隐私、稳定)的每个层次的特性可能因集中化而面临风险,以什么方式进行。我们的工作突出了在衡量和实现分层放权方面的挑战,指出(d)分权化的程度,各种现有系统的中央化,在这种层次上可以进行这种评估时,从现有的分权化方向,我们从现有的分权化到现在的分权放权方式,我们又可以提出一个分权化为标准,我们如何进行,从一个分级化,从一个分级化,从一个分级的分级的分级的分级的分权制,我们可以提出一个分级的分级的分级,从一个分级,从一个分级的分级,我们从一个分级,从一个分级,从一个分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级,我们从现有的分级,我们从一个分级,从现有的分级,从一个分级的分级的分级的分级的分级,从一个分级,我们可以建议,从一个分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级,从一个分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级的分级,从一个分级的分级,我们的分级制度可以提出一个分级